Tiny Little Town
by Crier
Summary: Alexis Davis prepares to meet her oldest daughter. One shot fic. I took some liberties with the Alexis Sam storyline. Please R&R, thanks!


Disclaimer: I don't own General Hospital or its characters. I'm just playing with them.

Note: Tiny Little Town was inspired by (the first part of) this clip: www nancyleegrahn com / multimedia / gh102104.wmv

******Tiny Little Town  
**

Alexis Davis buttoned her coat and shoved her hands into her pockets, fighting off the chill of the cold night air. She had followed the young woman for two blocks, keeping to the shadows to make sure she wasn't seen. She had been watching her every night for the last five weeks, and had done everything possible to avoid getting caught.

It was an anonymous tip and several weeks of research that brought her to this tiny little town, where she prepared now to introduce herself to her first born child. Searching for her daughter had been a heartbreaking journey; one that led her to believe first that her daughter had died at the age of three, and then that her daughter was really Sam McCall. When Alexis discovered that Sam wasn't her daughter, she finally accepted that she would never find her child. It was only when her husband received news that Alexis' firstborn was looking for her, that they were able to pick up her trail. And her husband, fiercely protective, was going to make sure her heart wasn't broken again. He had used every legal (and a few illegal) moves to make sure this woman was the real thing. Ironically, it was a piece of garbage … a discarded water bottle … that provided the DNA evidence they needed to convince them that this was Alexis' oldest child.

So here she stood on the sidewalk, across from the diner where her daughter was just sitting down at the counter. For the most part, Alexis knew exactly what would happen tonight; her daughter would order coffee, and then flirt with the young man who poured it. The two of them were cute together, and Alexis was certain that he was the reason that she stopped here every Thursday night after class. A short while later, her daughter would head for home; left out of the diner, down to the church, take a right and cross the street, and another half block to the side door of the fourth house on the right. Alexis had followed her many times, far more than necessary, and always waited long enough to see the light come on in the upstairs apartment that her daughter called home.

A young couple brushed past Alexis, interrupting her thoughts, and Alexis suddenly realized how cold she was standing there on the sidewalk. She crossed the street to the diner and slipped inside.

She sat down at the table nearest the door, not bothering to take her coat off. She was the only one in the diner, aside from her daughter and the young man working the counter. He rushed over to take her order and as he did, her daughter turned and looked at her, giving her a polite smile and nod as Alexis awkwardly tried to duck behind a small menu.

The young man brought Alexis her coffee, and turned his attention back to her daughter. Alexis warmed herself over the steaming cup, straining to overhear their conversation, while mentally scolding herself for eavesdropping. She was telling him about her latest attempt to paint the next great American masterpiece. Alexis smiled at this. Her daughter was a business student. Despite all the time, research, and surveillance, she never knew her daughter was an aspiring artist.

Just a few hours ago Alexis had argued with Ric, insisting that she already knew everything about her daughter, and therefore, there was really no point of meeting her. She knew who she is, where she is, and that she was safe. That was all Alexis had ever wanted, and she knew she wasn't entitled to more. But it didn't take Ric long to get Alexis to admit the real reason for her hesitation. What if her daughter rejected her?

"Do you love her enough?" Ric had asked simply, reminding her that her daughter had been looking for her too. "Can you set aside your fears and give her a chance? Do you love her enough for that?"

Alexis certainly did love her daughter, and she longed to hold her once more. Now here she was, struggling again to predict how her daughter would react to their introduction. Would she be angry? Would she tell her to go to hell? Would she run away from her? Maybe she would start hyperventilating. Alexis couldn't help but smile at the thought of her daughter keeping a paper bag nearby … just in case … just like she used to do.

Or, maybe her daughter wouldn't be angry or afraid. Maybe she would rejoice at finding her mother. Maybe she would throw her arms around her, and Alexis would finally be able to hold her daughter once more.

The wind had picked up and a light snow started to fall, and Alexis briefly turned her attention out the window to a passing car. It was a large sedan, and it seemed so out of place in this tiny little town. Everything large seemed out of place here. Her daughter's life was so different from her own. She made a small living, went to a small college, and lived in a small apartment. It was so different from Alexis' life in the big city. The big education and the big career, and the big, dark castles where she … Natasha … grew up.

Then it occurred to Alexis that her daughter didn't seem at all like a Cassadine. She didn't have the intensity. She didn't look like she had been beaten down by a tortured past. She hadn't been damned to suffer at the hands of Helena and Stavros, or raised to lurk in shadows and plot revenge. Here, in this tiny little diner in this tiny little town, was possibly the only living Cassadine who is at peace with her soul.

For the first time in her life, Alexis understood how incredibly lucky her daughter had been. She had escaped the Cassadine legacy, and if Alexis walked away now, her daughter would never have to know the horror of her mother's past. She would never be a pawn in some wicked scheme. She would never be a target for Helena . Ric's words crept back into her mind … _'Do you love her enough?' _

Time had passed quickly, and Alexis' daughter gathered her things and left for home. Alexis stared into her coffee, fighting the urge to follow, knowing that she had already followed her daughter too many times. She closed her eyes and pictured the route home … left out of the diner, down to the church, take a right and cross the street --

"NO!" The young man shouted as he came around the counter and headed straight toward her. Alexis jumped out of her chair thinking he was coming for her, but he rushed past her and out the door. She followed him outside and was nearly run down by the large sedan as it swerved up on the sidewalk, and then accelerated and sped away out of town. The young man was now sobbing and screaming for help from anyone who could hear, and Alexis' daughter lay face down in the street.

Alexis sprinted to her daughter, dropped to her knees and pulled the young woman into a tight embrace. "no no no no no" Alexis softly repeated, pleading to whatever God might be listening. She shifted and pulled away slightly, and studied her daughter's face. She looked into the eyes that were still open and a feeling of unwelcome familiarity came upon her. "You look just like your grandfather." She whispered. Alexis gently brushed her daughter's hair away from her face and noticed that it felt just like the hair in the ribbon at home. And as the crowd slowly gathered around them, Alexis realized that she was finally holding her daughter once more.

She screamed.

Miles away, the driver of the black sedan smiled. The image of Alexis Davis cradling the lifeless body of her first born made her laugh. "I gave her to you as a gift," she said aloud, her voice dripping with cruelty, "and you never even had the courage to speak to her. Oh Natasha, you are such a coward."


End file.
